Although this may be impossible, I thought that I would try it anyway.

California Charlie

Senior Member
I would like to try to "pull out" the remainder of my '31 SW Ford "cut off" Side Splash Shields without lifting the car body from the frame. 😮Maybe this will be an extremely difficult thing to do, but I would like to try to attempt it.

It's obvious to me where some of bolts are located that are holding what is left of the Spash Shields in place, but I'm unsure what bolts are holding the Shields between the car body and frame. I may still have some muscle 💪 left in me to pull out the remaining pieces of the Splash Shield. I would like to give it a try.

Can someone provide the '31 Splash Shield bolt fastener locations information with a picture or diagram?

Thanking everyone in advance for responding to my question. I'll let you know how things turn out if I'm successful.
 

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It can be done - with difficulty. The larger body bolts that go through the side splash aprons (or whatever their proper terminology is per Brent) and through the top frame rail are obvious and can be removed. The one bolt that may give you problems if still present is the little carriage head bolt at the rear of each piece. You can see that hole in the photo posted above by Bob C. Not only will the bolt most likely spin as you try to unscrew the nut, but because the body sits right on top of it, you WILL have to lift the body up at least an inch, maybe two, in order to remove this bolt. The apron cannot be slid out with this bolt in place. Perhaps a previous owner didn't re-install this bolt and you will luck out. But if the car is original and untouched, the bolt will still be there. You will have to lift the body a little anyway so that the splash aprons can be pulled out from under the body. What's another inch or so?
You are also aware that all four fenders will have to be completely removed, aren't you? This job can be accomplished, but it will take a lot of effort and unbolting of rusted (?) nuts and bolts.
Marshall
 
Oops! The runningboards will also have to come off the frame brackets in order to pull out the splash shields. If the runningboards have never been off before or the nuts are rusted on the four bracket arm bolts, they can be a bear to get loose. The tops of the bolt heads are a special dome that supposedly lock against the bottom side of each runningboard so that the nuts could be tightened at the factory. There is also a square shank on each bolt to keep the bolt from spinning inside the runningboard mounting strip. But over the years, this shoulder gets smaller from rust and from rubbing inside the metal channels beneath the runningboard. This allows the bolt to turn. The runningboards bow a little over time from abuse so that the dome portion no longer keeps the bolt tight. That means, the bolts may spin when you try to remove the nuts. Heat each nut with an acetylene torch first to break the rust bond between it and the bolt. That may make it easier to unscrew the nut after it cools down.
Marshall
 
Watch this video (starting at around 15 minutes) to get an idea of what all is there.

Thanks very much for the video information. (y)(y)

I found out the Splash Shields are just too tightly compressed under the weight of the car to muscle 💪 and simply pull them out. My 23rd Model A Ford restoration lesson learned. I'm keeping tabs. ✍️

I was going to eventually need to remove the car body from the frame and it now appears it's now sooner than later.

I hope my issue helps others.
 
If you can find some cribbing, ie, wood blocks, concrete blocks, etc., you can just use a single jack and slowly block the body up but the front fenders will either have to be supported or removed. You might get by on the rear by just loosening them. How high you go depends on disconnecting all the firewall related stuff like the hood and the steering column, etc., if it has to go up higher than things can stretch. It can be a lot of work depending on the condition of the car.

The model A always had the webbing placed on the frame to pad the body weight but the running board aprons are sandwiched in between the webbing and the body. The body is supported by the wood blocks in the sub frame above the running board aprons. Rubber pads are used under each body block with additional pads for body alignment so a person need to keep track of what is under the body pretty well to get it all back in proper position. Now, if all that stuff is rotted out then it will need to be replaced. That's why condition is important. A person could be opening a barrel of worms.
 
As Rotorwrench eluded to it is not that hard to lift the body. I had to do that on my '30 sedan to get the fenders out to paint them. Buy new pads and bolts. Just check to make sure that everything that needs to be unbolted is. You only have to lift it up a few inches.
 
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